City should do right by Knightville, this time

To the editor:

The development proposed for Ocean Street between B and C streets by South Portland Housing Authority’s development division was received by our Knightville neighbors with animosity just short of torches, pitchforks, tar and feathers.

How ironic that an unveiling of something so unpopular would take place in the building created over the objections of a vast majority of residents at the time. I hope the city council doesn’t again ignore the wishes of the residents by allowing anything close to this oversized project to move forward. The developers defended this proposal on the grounds of providing affordable housing. A city staffer in the audience challenged us by asking if we wanted to prevent “gentrification creep.” Not one person in the audience referenced any objection to affordable housing in the neighborhood or any socio-economic group who might reside in this project. Our objections were repeated consistently. This project is simply too large for this neighborhood. It’s mass is grossly out of scale, the number of units doesn’t comply with zoning, and the number of parking spaces planned for the building is far below what can accommodate the cars that this will generate. Something along the lines of Mill Cove Landing or its three-story next door neighbor would be more appropriate.